Mercedes may have finally learned to love the C-Class.

Mercedes’ junior sedan has been with us for a long time, showing up in 1993 to replace the 190 as a low-cost route to Mercedes ownership. That first C-Class was a genuine Mercedes, sure enough, but to American consumers who knew Mercedes as a purveyor of luxury cars, the C-Class was surprisingly agricultural; well-built but visibly cheap compared to the rest of the lineup. That impression has remained a fairly constant one until recent years, giving the impression that perhaps Mercedes just wasn’t trying all that hard with the C-Class because it wasn’t interested.

That’s all changed, though. Now in its fifth generation, the C-Class has become what it was intended to be all along—a proper Mercedes product in a more efficient package. No more cheap plastic and coarse powertrains; this car is a true luxury car, the S-Class reproduced in a smaller package. I spent a week with the 2015 C400 W4 to get a sense of just how seriously Mercedes is taking the “near-luxury” market. The answer? Very seriously indeed.

The C400’s twin-turbo 3.0 liter V-6 produces 329 horsepower for a healthy bump in displacement and power over the standard 2.0 liter turbocharged four-cylinder in the C300. It moves with authority, and my weekly commute was transformed into something a bit grander and more purposeful. Need to take a trip to the grocery store? This car will get the heck out of those groceries. The C400 doesn’t just cruise down the highway, it goes somewhere. The seven-speed automatic transmission is seamless, and this car almost always feels relaxed, yet purposeful. Decent gearing means that the C400 can max out at 29 mpg on the highway as well.

The C400 doesn’t just cruise down the highway, it goes somewhere.

This car’s been designed to simultaneously offer a rewarding drive and to mask the machine beneath the surface. Never mind what that long hood covers, just focus on the effortless way that the C400 moves through the world, taking you with it. The suspension’s pretty complicated, with a four-link setup in the front designed for lateral stability at high speeds. At the rear the C400 uses a five-link design, so that wheel positioning can be fine-tuned. The fuel-saving stop-start system is nice; it works quickly and unobtrusively. Perhaps as a result, fuel economy was better than I expected.

It’ll corner faster than you think, too.

Curb weight has been reduced by about two hundred pounds compared to the previous generation, so the C400 is responsive and gives decent feedback. Mercedes also offers two suspension upgrades: the Sport Package, which lowers the suspension by just over half an inch for a sharper edge to the handling, and the AIRMATIC front-and-rear air suspension with continuous damping.

The AIRMATIC system is self-leveling, and it reads the road to adjust to changing conditions. It’s not a magic-carpet ride, but the C400 so equipped is responsive and comfortable. The biggest complaint enthusiasts have traditionally had about the C-Class is that it’s harsher and less nimble than other sports sedans, and with the Sport Package and AIRMATIC suspension that’s somewhat addressed.

Things are reasonably simple in terms of pricing with the C-Class these days. It’s a two-model range, with the four-cylinder C300 starting at $38,400 and the all-wheel drive, V6-powered C400 4MATIC retailing for $48,590. The Sport Package adds about $2,000 to the bottom line of the C300. The C400 I drove was pretty loaded, with the panoramic sunroof, parking assist, sport interior package, DISTRONIC PLUS and a multimedia package, among other goodies, and stickered for $65,000 even. For true sports-sedan fanatics, AMG has the 2015 Mercedes-AMG C63 and AMG C63 S, with 469 and 503 horsepower, respectively. But that’s a joyride for another day.

http://www.topspeed.com/cars/mercedes/2015-mercedes-c400driven-ar169958.html#main

Chai! Lovely ride. I need money ohhhhhhhh.